Afni Collections agency - How to handle the collector

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Afni showed up on my transunion report I disputed it it was deleted. Now it has showed up on my equifax report for a verizon account in md. I have never lived in md nor have I ever had a verizon account. They showed up as afni on trans and anderson fin networkbloom on equifax. How do we stop these crooks!!

I am registered with Identity Guard who monitors any change in my credit report. I recieved notification today that AFNI has posted a debt to my credit. The debt is for Sprint and according to AFNI the account was opened in September 2001 and payment was made to the account for 6 months with the last payment in March of 2002. The representative told me that they bought the debt in 2004 from Sprint. I am disputing the debt 1) I've never had Sprint and 2) if identity theft was involved it has been 7yrs since the last payment was reported. At the time I had service through a local provider who had not been around long and prior to that I worked for a cellular provider and recieved FREE service. I didnt have a need for cellular thru a different provider. I know that obviously SOL for my state has expired but according to the credit bureaus will the AFNI entry remain on my credit till the 7.5yr mark from the date the creditor reported delinquency of the date AFNI acquired the debt. I am awaitng validation from AFNI but from the entries on here that I have read, I can expect not to recieve anything. I also contacted Sprint (although AFNI told me they wouldn't be able to access the account) who was able to access the account in question. They have mailed a Fraud Package for my completion. Any advise as to what to do next?

1st thing you do is send them an "unknown debt letter" do not sign it.
2nd make sure you send it certified mail RRR (request return reciept)
3rd let them know in the letter the debt is not yours and if these items are not removed within 10 days they will receive no further warning as you will be Contacting the BBB , FTC , ACA and Most importantly the Illinois Attorney General (he hates them)
you can also make them aware that after researching you are well aware of how many times that have been sued for illegal reporting ... wether it be listing as an open account , 1 month terms , installment account and reaging of accounts.

If they do not comply follow through with a complaint to all the above listed..... they will fold like a lawn chair

My problem is that they're trying to collect on a debt to which I do not owe. They keep accusing me of being some other individual whom I am not. When I tell them I am not this person I get a nasty, "I find that very hard to believe.' This is harassment and it's illegal. Are they so damn stupid that they can't understand that an individual who's in debt most likely changed their number? I'm the unfortunate soul who inherited the number when I moved. I tell them not to call back and they call be even more frequently. It seems like they're trying to be smart asses and the only reason they would have that attitude is because the government isn't doing a damn thing about it.

Two months ago, AFNI collection agency sent me a letter and said that I owed T-Mobile for 82.54. I called them to verified. They told me that I did not pay my last statement of September, 2005. I told them that it is very weird that they try to collect money after 5yrs. I insisted that I did owe any amount from T-Mobile. They asked me if I have any evidences to prove that I paid the last statement. I answered that I dont have it; I do not keep statements since it was 5 yrs ago. Serveral days later, I called them again and insisted that I paid. Then, I contact with my MasterCard company to get statements of 2005 and 2006. I was very surprised that the last time that I paid monthly for using T-mobile phone until January 2006. Based on the records of my MasterCard, the last statement should be December, 2005 instead of September, 2005. Therefore, I called AFNI again since I have evidencies to show them that I did not owe T-Mobile, and the last statement was not September but December. About a week later, they sent a letter and stated that my dispute is valid. Therefore, AFNI is scammers. If you try to fight back, they will give up. Good luck!

The Statue of Limitations ONLY applies to how long the debt is reported to your credit score. Except for only a few states that require after so many years the debt be wrote off if not collected on. After 7 years the debt is no longer on your credit report. However CA can collect on any debt (except for those within those particular states) for as long as the debt it owned.

not if the person sends a C&D letter with the proviso that the debt is time-barred.meaning further contact could and should result in a lawsuit against the collector.btw the SOL on alot of debts in some states is alot shorter than the 7.5 yr reporting period.so you are wrong in many ways.

AFNI lost a class action lawsuit last year for sending deceptive letters in reply to validation requests, claiming they "couldn't investigate" the dispute, rather than obtaining validation as requested.

I also have a problem with afni, they say its from a t-mobile account also and i have never ever had t-mobile, i did a dispute with the credit bureau and they replied that this account belongs to me. Well i know it doesnt how do they check these companies its like their word against mines and have a $1013 credit collection against my reoprt how do i get help with this its stopping me from getting anything.

Ok, since you disputed with the CRAs and they verified, you send them a letter asking for their procedure....you want to know who validated the debt and a contact phone number. By law they have to provide it.

Then you send a letter to the CA, address it to whoever verified it (if you don't get anything from the CRA then just address it to the CA in general). Inform them that they have verified an account that you never had and that you want validation, otherwise you will sue them. If you do sue them, also sue the CRA if they refuse to provide you the verification information.

You are a little mistaken, many states have have passed laws that are similar to the fcra and are not pre-empted.

#114---Federal Law trumps state law any day of the week if they use it

There are a few states that have better consumer laws than the federal ones, but many states just follow the federal laws.

what is the sol on a bill? afni sent me a discounted payment offerfor a bill from 2002

If the debt is not legitimate report it to the postal service as mail fraud.https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/mailfraudcomplaint.aspx


A federal investigation of fraud tends to get people to play by the rules

I just looked on credit report.com and saw I owe a 441.00 debt. My question is to who? It doesnt tell me who opened this acct. and it is hendering my progress in cleaning up my debt. Please can someone help me?

This thread is freakin awesome. When I was 19, brand new married soldier wanting to buy furniture for my new home, I couldn't because some G-D $5000 write off was on there erroneously from when I was 15 years old (name didn't even match). I didn't know what to do. This was 1991, there was no internet. I just lived with the bad credit because I was naive and dumb.

So today I get this splashy, family friendly notice saying I owe $306.26 from Verizon, Feb 2005. But they will graciously accept $153.13. The kicker was they so lovingly invited me to their website to log in with the last 4 of my social. (I've read this thread that some have done that... Gr! Don't do that. And don't call them from work or home, either, because they can snatch your phone number).

Anyway, at that point in 2005, I hadn't had Verizon (landline) since Fall 2004 and no Verizon (cell) again until 2006-present (with no problems, no notices that I owe a prior bill) and even more Verizon internet last month.

I'm glad to see this here, but I have to admit that it's sad that this thread is so many years old (frog even did a count-off 2 years ago) and this is still a problem.

If I can address those who are inclined to be frightened into paying for stuff so easily: Don't. This is what drives people like these.

To use an example: You know all the spam you get in your email? Have you ever wondered why they try so hard, because you can't imagine anyone falling for it? Well there's your reason. For a spammer, it's well worth spamming 1,000,000 email boxes to get one sucker to buy their product, or divulge their private information.

Same here. Just do not pay people money you don't recognize. Learn to trust yourself to stand up to the verbal assault when you say clearly and confidently, "No, not today. But I will research this."

Don't be like me from 1991, living with someone else's charge off from when I was a minor.

Thank you.

Send the DV letter first. If they cannot validate it then you have the right to have it removed from your credit report. The cease and desist letter does nothing to get it removed. A non-validated debt can be removed by contacting the credit reporting agency.:shock:

I just checked my report and came with a hit from Afni, Inc. that I owe $352. from where I dont know. Looks like most of what you guys have been saying here is that most Afni collection charges come from phone bills. (I dont use major phone carriers myself, just minute phones.) How do I find out who/where the original bill came from?

Dispute the account with the credit reporting agencies. If they verify it, ask them for procedures because by law they have to supply you with the name and number of why verified the info. THEN you send the company a letter asking them to validate, since they obviously have the means to verify with the CRAs.

omg i didnt know this afni collections was this bad can i request that they send my 3 accounts to a new collection agency.

I just received a wonderful letter from Afni, stating that I owe Verizon 475$ for ____(they really didn't say). But wait, there's more. If I acted soon, I would get the bill cut almost in half. WOW, what an amazing offer. Too bad I have NEVER had Verizon, nor anything affiliated with that company. Thankfully, my free yearly credit report cleared up any questions I might have had....On all three reports generated, not one 'negative' from Verizon, nor from Afni came up to say hello. Nothing in collections, squat. Due to this, I don't believe that I will be paying the full amount of 475$, nor the half price deal. Instead, I'll be making a formal complaint about the company! Many, many complaints....

#124 unfortunately no. You can send them a cease & desist, but I would only do that after sending validation letters and if they did not answer in a satisfactory manner.

#125 Be sure to send AFNI a debt validation letter, in it explain that you have never had a verizon account and that you want to see proof of this debt, because it is not yours.

If you read up on the FDCPA, you would know that Afni is one of the most qualified agencies to handle your debt. Don't throw a hissyfit because someone calls you on being irresponsible. While you're reading up on the FDCPA, why don't you visit the BBB website, Afni is also a member and has an A rating. So before you open your mouth and sound like the fool you surely already are, you should check some reliable sources.
:p
---Someone Who Pays Their Bills.

Are you a lawyer, where do you get off giving people advice? I hope you realize the damage you are potentially doing to these innocent peoples credit by giving out your thoughts. You my friend are the reason our economy is in this condition. These people in collections have had so many opportunities to resolve their debts outside of collections, responsibility does not get you in Afni Collections. There are occasionally exceptions to this rule, and it sure has nothing to do with Afni, especially on newer debts. Afni does not own the accounts, the charges are from the clients (DirecTv, Dish, Sprint, Verizon...etc.) So if your loyal readers really have a problem with the charges, they should take it up with the source of the problem. Now even on the accounts that Afni does own, these people are pulling your leg when the say they've never heard of the debt. Maybe you should invest your time in doing something to better our economy rather than giving scumbags more reasons to not pay their bills.
Thanks

--- Responsible FDCPA Certified Collection Associate.

no, pay your damn bill

p.s. - statue of limitations does not apply to collection activity - it applies to credit reporting. there's some more research you can do. There are only 2 states where the statue of limitations also apply to collection activity. A collection agency by law has the right to pursue a valid debt as long as they'd like. And trust me, Afni has plenty of economy boosting individuals willing to help out with this matter.

That is not theie address, that's the cooperate headquarters location - where no collection activity takes place. How hard did you search for that information genius.

You don't. Check with the BBB. Do you think they're illegal? Maybe search Afni Collections. They have an A rating. With all the bs complaints that come in, thousands a year, they have an A rating. You are not going to get anywhere with an agency so overcompliant as them.

no, if you have proof that in the state you live in, you could not legally consent to a contract, you will not be held to the debt. but if they don't know this, obviously they know no other thing to do than collect.

Why are all of your "experts" just people who have joined the site. Haha, what this world is coming to. How amusing.

I think I'll be an expert, at least I'm certified to give advice. I give advice out of honesty and true law. Not in regards to someone's feelings.

katbrat,

Clearly, those people are not experts. However, when someone posts here, others are free to reply as well.

Obviously, we are dealing with some debt collectors that must be having a slow day on the phones. The statute of limitations issue is easily handled--if a debt collector tries to collect on a debt that is so old that SOL has expired in your state, then simply send them a certified letter requesting that they immediately cease all contact with you regarding that matter. By federal law, they must obey a request to cease and desist. At that point, they have three options--

1--they can continue to try to contact you to collect on the debt. If they do this, go find yourself a consumer attorney and sue them for FDCPA violations.
2--they can cease all contact....which is legally their only option.
3--they can file a lawsuit, and if you can show that the debt is past the SOL, then you can do two things. First, their lawsuit will be dismissed. Second, you can then sue them for violating the FDCPA--it is not legal to sue on a debt that the SOL has passed on.

well let me educate some people.btw great post skydiver as you busted the humanoids balloon,but i want to expand the points of SOL,and THE BBB further.one the SOL not only varies state to state but debt to debt.each debt has a different SOL.like credit cards,car loans,even judgements.the credit reporting period is 7.5 yrs from the last payment,or first delinquency.that is acroos the board for all debts.so the humanoids assertion is wrong,and stupid.now to the BBB.if a place has an ungodly number of complaints,but they are all resolved.this is how they are resolved.this bottomfeeder drops the matter like it was radioactive.the person happy that they no longer have to deal with idiots reports to the BBB that the mattter was resolved.big freaking deal.bottomline,this is an evil lawbreaking bottomfeeder that desperately needs to be class actioned out of business...nuff said.

I would like to know if sending a complaint to attorney general helped you. I would also like to know if you sent the complaint to attorney general of the state where you live or the state in which AFNI's head office is located. I want to follow the same course. In past people from AFNI have called my house and threatened my kids saying they can destroy their father's credit and get him arrested if debt is not paid (meaning me). The collection is wrong. I truly don't owe. The collection has travelled from cellular one in 2005 to AT&T when latter bought the former company. And in fact I have spoken to Cellular One and AT&T many times over in the past and been told by them to forget the collections as they realized every time that I never actually got the service nor used it, but I have not saved the letters from them in past. This collection in my credit report is stopping me from refinancing my house at this time. Now, I understand why some people after going through so much of shit sometimes go and try to physically harm others. Besides, the people from this agency are very rude and use very very fould language at times, so foul that you want to get inside the phone and slap the man on the other side. Wish it was possible then I would take a baseball bat with me.

What is the statute of limitations on collections

Statutes of limitations are determined by state law. What state do you live in?